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Saturday, April 24, 2010

Memoria Press

We had another opportunity at using a product that allowed us to get a feel for a "Classical" approach to education. It's still not our cup of tea at this time due to us still trying to get used to educating at home.

Memoria Press has a really great line of products for homeschoolers to choose from. We had the opportunity to take a shot at learning some Latin. I never thought of learning Latin before so I was excited when our package arrived in the mail. Here is a brief description of all we received.First we have thePrima Latina . It is a beginner Latin program (an introduction to Christian Latin). If you have no background in Latin here is where you want to start. It is recommended for students K-3rd grade. Even if my son was beyond 4th grade I would have began here anyway to help us get a feel for it.

It is very easy to follow because the author Leigh Lowe does an excellent job of teaching it in an easy to understand way. The Prima Latina text set comes with a teacher's manual, student book, and a pronunciation guide, songs, and prayers CD for $32.95. It is made up of 25 lessons. Each lesson consists of 2 pages that has grammar, vocabulary words, and your child will even learn a new part of a prayer in Latin. At the end of each lesson is a 2 page exercise. The exercises consist of review questions, writing out the new words and their translations, and a fun practice. They have a 3 disk Instructional DVD set for $45.00 that goes along with all the lessons. My son likes watching this because he can see the teacher's face and how her lips formulates the words. They recommend using the flash cards to go along with the study. If you are like me and want to save money, I suggest making a set of your own flash cards using different colored 3x5" index cards.

Next we have the Cursive Copybook. Your child will write some Hymns and Prayers as well as other words he or she is learning from the Latin lessons using New American Cursive.

Your child can begin using this copybook around the 2nd grade level or once he or she has started cursive handwriting. My son learned cursive this school year so it was great practice for him. In the beginning of the book there is an opportunity for students to trace the letters. After that is the Latin phrases with the English translation on the next page. I like that the pages are side by side so you can see what each word means. The Cursive Copybook is $14.95.Last we ventured into learning some Roman History by reading about The Famous Men of Rome. This is indeed a living book and is beautifully illustrated.

Famous Men of Rome is recommended for Grades 3-6. The book set includes a text, teacher manual, and student guide. It is normally priced at $52.85 but is now on sale for $39.95. The student guide goes along with each lesson being read. It consists of Facts to Know, Vocabulary, Comprehension Questions, and Activities to do at the end of each lesson.

Although my son is in 3rd grade I found this to be too much for him to do right now. It is above his level of comprehension because he has AS and is socially behind a few years. We just read the stories together and have a brief discussion about what we read. IMO unless your child is very mature to actually understand what's going on, I think 4th or 5th grade would be a better time for kids to get more out of this type of study. My son's attention span was too short for these lessons so we will try this again in a few years for him.Memoria Press has a great line up of Latin and History products for different ages. My son really enjoys learning Latin. During each lesson he says "this is fun". Once we have finished Prima Latina I plan to continue on with their Christina Latina I if we are able to afford it. For all that you are getting it is well worth the value.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions written are entirely my own. Being a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I
was not paid to write this review but
received the product free of charge to review and give my honest
opinion.

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